Mark de la Vega brings porcupine-quill chair, eggshell chessboard to Salon after studio fire

A buyer at Salon Art + Design bought four chairs from Mark de la Vega on Friday, including a one-off version covered in 8- to 10-inch porcupine quills, called the "Exotic Wild Things Giac Chair."

The other three were simpler versions of a design de la Vega first created in 2009 and described as his "best seller for all these years."

"They're not necessarily intended for sitting, but for admiring," de la Vega said at his booth at this year's fair.

"She was a baddie," he said of the buyer. "You couldn't tell by looking."

The buyer tested how far back she could lean her head in the chair, he said.

The quills on the chair come from African porcupines, he said. North American porcupine quills measure just a few inches.

Tariffs keep longtime galleries out of Salon Art + Design

At least 13 exhibitors with bases outside the United States that showed at the collectible design fair in 2025 are not on this year's list.

Urgent MatterAdam Schrader

Interior designers who buy the chairs incorporate them into their own settings. De la Vega has seen them appear in publications styled with tiger print, alongside globes and cabinets of curiosities.

"So, I wanted to raise the bar of creativity and show the designers also what it can be," he said.